My introduction to George R.R. Martin's fantasy world of Westeros came through HBO's "Game of Thrones."

Yes, I'm late to the game, considering the first novel in Martin's planned seven-book epic, "A Game of Thrones," came out in 1996. But the HBO series prompted me to seek out the novel, because the book is always better.

And, after reading "A Game of Thrones," I sought out the audiobook, if only to give me another way of spending more time with the high-born families who are the key players in the game of thrones: the Baratheons of Storm's End, with Robert the one king over the seven kingdoms that make up Westeros; the Starks of Winterfell, with Eddard, the lord of that vast, cold northern land called upon to be Robert's right-hand man; the Lannisters of Casterly Rock, which includes Robert's scheming wife, Queen Cersei; and the Targaryens, the young heirs to a family that had united the seven kingdoms hundreds of years before, but have been exiled to the lands across the narrow sea.

The "game" of the title, for those who are unfamiliar with the story, deals with the political — and physical — machinations as the multitude of characters strive for power, or are devoured by other people's struggles. As Cersei says to the so-honorable-you-know-he's-doomed Eddard Stark, "When you play the game of thrones, you win or you die."

What launches the action of the novel is the news of the death of King Robert's Hand – which is what the king's chief adviser is called. His death prompts the king to visit Eddard Stark in his northern kingdom to ask him to be his new Hand, which means breaking up his family and moving far to the south to the capital, King's Landing. There, Eddard Stark retraces his predecessor's steps, and begins to uncover a truth that threatens to break apart the royal house.

As in many a fantasy epic, a lot of people die. But unlike the granddaddy of them all, "The Lord of the Rings," the characters in "A Game of Thrones" don't shy away from sex. In fact, sex and its many outcomes of legitimate and illegitimate children power much of the epic. It adds a strong humanizing aspect to the tale, and is no doubt one of the reasons why it appealed to HBO.

The audiobook — a 28-disc, 33.5-hour unabridged epic (Random House Audio; $45) — stands on its own as a major accomplishment. In fact, the 2004 audiobook features British actor Roy Dotrice narrating and creating 224 distinct character voices, an achievement that earned Guinness World Record recognition for "most character voices for an audio book — individual."

It isn't just quantity that matters. The now 89-year-old Dotrice has the kind of steady and stately British accent that gives weight to his every word. His acting is well-suited for the epic fantasy that is "A Game of Thrones," with its suggestion that he's an ancient storyteller speaking from a faraway time and place. Fans of the TV series, which completed its second season earlier this year, will know Dotrice as Pyromancer Hallyne, the person who makes the wildfire for Tyrion Lanniseter (but I'm getting ahead of myself, because that's part of Season 2, which is based on the second book, "A Clash of Kings").

Dotrice successfully conveys a multitude of characters in the audiobook. He easily nails some of the more distinctive voices — the guttural and gruff Khal Drogo (the powerful Dothraki warlord who takes the exiled Daenerys Targaryen as his wife); the pinched and high-pitched voice of the maegi, a witch taken in by Daynerys; and the quasi-European lyrical play in the voice of Syrio Forel, a sword-fighting master who is hired by Eddard Stark to teach his tomboyish younger daughter, Arya.

Where he excels is in realizing two similar but distinct characters, Grand Maester Pycelle of King's Landing and Maester Luwin of House Stark. Dotrice captures both characters' stately positions, as they are both older men who act as maesters (scholarly advisers who are celibate). Dotrice also nails their differences. Luwin speaks slowly with a sad worldliness as he tries to counsel the Starks with forthright advice. Pycelle, meanwhile, also speaks slowly, with just a subtle enough difference to hint at his two-faced scheming that shows why he's been able to be an adviser to a succession of kings.

In many ways, Dotrice enlivens the book in ways that are even better then the HBO show. For example, one of my favorite scenes occurs at an inn on the road when Lady Cattelan Stark runs into Tyrion Lannister, whom she believes plotted in the murder attempt on her young son. She calls out the others in the inn by the insignias on the clothes to remind them of their allegiance to her house by birth (she's the daughter of Lord Tully) and to her house by marriage, the Starks. By her speech, the men rise and take Tyrion prisoner.

In print and in the audiobook, the rich drama plays out well as a satisfying and complex turn of events, considering both Lady Stark and Tyrion have been developed as likable characters. Dotrice's skills allow his voice to fill the inn with the characters present. In the HBO show, however, the wonderful performances by Peter Dinklage (who won an Emmy) and Michelle Fairley can't make up for the shot-in-the-studio feel of this scene, which makes the inn appear too small, too brightly lit and not crowded enough. At least that's how the place appeared in my imagination when reading the scene and listening to it.

Rewatching the scene on DVD revealed the weakness of a visual adaptation: it has to be literal at all times, and must show places and people, instead of just suggesting them.